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Having low willpower can make it harder to get those tasks that need doing done. It can stop us from working out, stop us from eating right and even stop us from quitting smoking. But what exactly is willpower?

According to the American Psychological Association (APA) willpower can be defined as “a basic ability to delay gratification”. This means that those who lack willpower will take the option that provides instant gratification, for example having a cigarette, rather than delaying gratification (feeling healthier and happier once you have quit smoking).

If you struggle with willpower, you are not alone – research has shown that it is often a personality trait. Having said this, further studies suggest that willpower is something that can be learned and increased.

New research suggests describing obesity as a disease resigns people to their condition – making them eat more.

Researchers at the University of Richmond and the University of Minnesota say labelling obesity as a disease is having a negative impact on the unhealthy eating behaviour of overweight people.

They have collected data to suggest that the label, ‘disease’ makes people think that obesity is an unchangeable condition, and therefore they do not feel compelled to stop eating unhealthily and tackle their weight.

The American Medical Association defined obesity as a disease in June 2013 and psychologists Crystal Hoyt and Jeni Burnette wanted to establish what effect this has had – particularly on the overweight population.

Dr Hoyt said: “Considering that obesity is a crucial public health issue, a more nuanced understanding of the impact of an ‘obesity is a disease’ message has significant...

Almost all of us suffer from stress at some point in our lives and for the most part it is an unfortunate fact of life. It can cause problems however (both physically and mentally) if left untreated or if you are feeling stressed every day.

The key to stress management is the ‘management’ part; by keeping control of stress and stamping it out before it gets to an unhealthy level, you can avoid the physical and emotional pitfalls of stress. The following easy tips should help you keep a handle on day-to-day stresses:

Don’t procrastinate

One of the key things that many of us stress over is having tasks we are yet to do. Most of us go through stages of procrastinating, but when we allow things to build up, our stress levels can increase. Keep stress to a minimum by tackling the task you are most likely to put off (dentist, anyone?), by getting this task out...

New research suggests that just one loud event can cause irreparable hearing problems.

We have all been warned on numerous occasions that exposure to loud noise over a period of time can damage our hearing.

New research however has found that attending just one loud concert, football match or nightclub could be enough to greatly damage the nerve fibres in the ear that send electrical signals to the brain and allow people to hear.

Neuroscientists at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary have found that the effects can leave people struggling to listen to others in settings where background noise is quite loud. These include restaurants, bars and other areas of common use.

The findings are based on several years of research that involved testing the effects of loud music on mice, guinea pigs and chinchillas.

Dr Charles Liberman and Dr Sharon Kujawa who lead the study found that...

Talking to yourself in a negative way is perhaps one of the key things that stops you from being productive and enjoying everything life has to offer. Talking to yourself in this way creates and reinforces existing subconscious beliefs that are likely to stop you achieving what you want.

Negative self-talk usually comes from relating your current set of circumstances with a previous experience. If you haven’t succeeded in something in the past, this could affect your ability to succeed in the future. Rather than shaking off past experiences, your mind focuses on the failure and tells you that you can’t do it.

Being aware that you are doing this is an important first step. If you can recognise your self-talk for what it truly is – nothing more than baggage from the past – you can choose to shift your way of thinking to put you in a better position to achieve success.

New research shows that parents who shout at their children could be making behaviour problems worse.

Parents who discipline their children by shouting rather than reasoning with them can create further discipline problems, new research suggests.

Presented to the Royal Economic Society annual conference, a study by the London School of Economics found that excessive shouting and the issuing of harsh punishments is counterproductive to tackling bad behaviour in children.

Ignoring children was also revealed to be a factor contributing to deteriorating discipline standards.

Almost 19,000 children born in the first two years of the millennium were analysed in the study and data was collected from parents just before children’s first birthday, then when they turned three, five and seven.

A new study reveals what many already suspected – checking Smartphones and tablets before bed disrupts sleep.

Many of us fall into the same habit – checking our phones before heading to bed. Whether we’re reading through texts, browsing the Internet or checking social media accounts, looking at devices that emit blue light can play havoc with sleeping patterns.

A new survey has found that 78% of adults questioned regularly expose themselves to devices that emit blue light before going to bed. This number rose to an incredible 91% among respondents aged 18-24.

The University of Hertfordshire carried out the survey and commented that the blue light disrupts sleep by suppressing the production of sleep-inducing hormone melatonin.

The recommended amount of sleep for adults is between seven and eight hours a night, with teenagers requiring at least nine. The amount of people getting too little sleep has risen by a fifth...

Leaving work at the office has become an increasingly difficult thing to do. With the advent of Smartphones and tablets, now we are able to connect with work whenever and wherever we want. For some this means that the lines between work and home are blurred beyond recognition.

This inability to switch off is putting both our mental and physical health at risk, inviting stress, depression and anxiety. Taking steps to relax and truly switch off after work can help improve your mental well-being for a stress-free work/life balance. Take a look at the following suggestions:

Prioritise sleep

The 24/7 lifestyle we tend to lead can cause havoc for our sleeping patterns. Worrying about work can keep you awake and stress your body and mind further. Sleep is crucial for giving your brain ‘down time’ and will keep you sharp and productive when you are at...